It’s starting to look a lot like the beginning of the fall run. The surf, which has been relatively quiet for most of the summer, is coming to life.
For the past week, the suds in my neck of the woods, Asbury Park and Ocean Grove, have looked like spearing soup. Big schools of bait are working their way along the coast and attracting our favorite predators.
In addition to the spearing, there’s peanut bunker, rainfish and snappers. And false albacore, bluefish and fluke have been hot on their heels. There’s some bass around as well, but there’s been no word of any real big fish as yet.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported blues in the 5- to 6-pound range being caught from the beach in Leonardo and there are albies off Sandy Hook, Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach.
He also said the fluke chased inshore by last week’s hurricane are still being caught from the Keansburg and Keyport piers and other spots along the bayshore. The bite isn’t as intense as it was immediately following the storm, but he’s still getting word of guys getting keeper fluke from the docks and bulkheads.
There are plenty of short bass under the Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright bridges at night and the crabbing is still good in the Navesink River.
Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands also got word of albies off Sandy Hook, Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach, Deal and Asbury Park so they’re spread out pretty nicely.
Any piece of small metal, such as a Crippled Herring or Ava 007 will catch the speedsters. Just tie the lure directly to the line without any swivel, clip or other terminal tackle and use a speedy retrieve. Be prepared for the chase as the fish move quickly. Or you can stay put on the sand and hope they work their way back to you
The porgy fishing is also holding up in Raritan Bay and bass are being caught from the beaches of Sandy Hook on plugs early in the morning and in the evening.
Mike at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the fluke fishing in the surf has improved dramatically over the last week. He’s been fishing North Beach on Sandy Hook with spearing and landing fish up to 22 inches.
Mike also said the porgy fishing has been good from the bayside beaches on Sandy Hook.
There are also small blues joining the albies off the beach in Sea Bright.
With just two weekends left in the summer flounder season, the party and charter boats are hoping for a big finale. The boats out of Atlantic Highlands returned to the fluke grounds as soon as they could after Hurricane Hermine and the fish were still there. The bite, however, has been a bit up and down.
Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen said it’s been a little tough since the storm with some windy days and an inconsistent bite. He’s been finding a lot of shorts and sea bass –which have to go back – but not enough keepers.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler reported some good days and bad days since the hurricane with Tuesday being one of the better ones. The boat got eight keepers on the first drift and most people aboard got at least a keeper or two.
Monday saw the emergence of a new big pool leader on the Angler when Rabindra Karmaker from Princeton Junction landed an 8-pound 1-ounce fluke to take over the top spot. The pool is worth close to $4,500.
Capt. Bachert is hoping for some cooler weather that will get the fish moving so he can get in on some good exit fishing.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the late-season fluke bite has been good for the boats out of Belmar.
It was certainly good for Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of the marina on Wednesday. Two doormats came over the rail, with Hugh Toal of Jackson landing an 11.2 pounder and John Smith of Millville getting the other at 11 pounds even. They were fishing in 75 feet of water
Capt. Spinelli said they had a couple of 6 pounders and some 4 pounders as well. He’s been doing some porgy trips, too, and getting some nice ones up to 16 inches.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar said the fluke have been a little harder to find since the storm, but the porgy fishing has been excellent.
Matthews said the Shark River is still holding some fluke but they’re mostly shorts. Live bait, like snappers, is catching the better fish.
He also said the big blues have finally showed up.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle reported choppers up to 22 pounds on Tuesday’s trip with some false albacore in the mix. Wednesday’s trip produced smaller fish in the 3- to 5-pound range but plenty of action.
Matthews said kingfish and porgies are offering an alternate target for the fluke fishermen and can be caught in the river and surf on worms and clams. The stripers are starting to show, but the bite has a way to go for the surf guys to be happy.
Finally, Matthews reported a new state record triggerfish when Jimmy Massimino weighed in a 6-pound, 11-ounce trigger he caught at the Sea Girt Reef, beating the old record of 5 pounds, 12 ounces.
Jeff Nuel at Harry’s Adventure Outfitters in Robbinsville reported that the albies have appeared farther south as well with fish from Manasquan down to Barnegat. Some were caught at Bay Head and Island Beach State Park on Deadly Dicks.
He also reported mahi-mahi hanging around the pots up to 20 miles out and there are also lots of small blues right off the beaches.
The blues were thick off the sand from Asbury Park to Belmar on Monday with fish of 1 to 2 pounds stuffing themselves on spearing right in the wash. They were back at the banquet again on Tuesday and Wednesday in the same area.
Dave Arbeitman at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the albies have been at the Manasquan Inlet for the last few days, along with small bluefish. He also reported weakfish in the Manasquan River along with a lot of stripers, mostly on the small side.
There are fluke off the beach as well hitting bucktails tipped with Gulp and pieces of squid.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said there are stripers in the Manasquan River hitting eels and sandworms. A few of the fish have been keepers. The fluking hasn’t been great of late but the boats out of the inlet are still catching some nice fish.
He also said the night bluefish trips out of Bogan’s Basin found big blues between 12 and 16 pounds. They’ve been sailing on the weekend evenings.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
Check out the surf. The beaches from Sandy Hook down to Manasquan are holding bluefish, false albacore and fluke with some short bass early in the morning and the evening being caught on plugs. There are snappers in the surf still and if you can catch them on small metal or a snapper popper, they make great live bait for fluke. I’ve picked up a couple of flatties from the beach in just the last couple of days.
Would like to her more about around Staten Island